Put a little bacon grease in the pan before frying up some eggs. Fold in some crispy bacon when you make cornbread. Drench bacon in maple syrup as you devour a stack of buttermilk pancakes.

Are you drooling yet?

If so, you should consider curing and smoking your own bacon. Besides being one of the simplest things to do, it produces some of the tastiest bacon you can imagine. And, you’ll quickly become everyone’s best friend.

To make homemade bacon, follow three basic steps: (1) procure fresh pork belly, (2) cure it, and (3) smoke it. It’s a pretty easy process — no more difficult than marinating a piece of meat (although it does take a little more time sitting in the fridge).

Find fresh pork belly

Order a 5-pound slab of pork belly from a local farm or butcher shop, preferably with the skin on.

Make sure to get naturally raised pork belly. Supermarket pork doesn’t have enough flavor or fat to produce good bacon. Seek out heritage raised pork. I’m a huge fan of the pork raised at Wedge Oak Farm in Lebanon by Karen Overton and D.B. Byler Amish Hog Farm in Ethridge, Tenn., served by the awesome folks at Porter Road Butcher. Porter Road Butcher cures and smokes exceptional bacon, which I highly recommend you go buy anyway! But please give them a call in advance so they can process your order.

Not a fan of pork belly? You can also make bacon using other cuts. The pork loin is traditionally used for Canadian bacon. And try ordering lamb breast/belly to make lamb bacon.

Cure the pork belly

Curing is coating meat in a mixture of salt and sugar to extract excess moisture from the meat, thereby enhancing its flavor and texture. As one of the oldest methods of preservation, the use of salt will ensure that bacteria cannot grow as the meat cures.

Coat the pork belly in enough basic bacon cure to evenly coat the meat. Put the pork in a two-gallon zip-top bag and stick it in the fridge for seven to 10 days, until the pork belly is firm to the touch. Take the cured belly out of the bag, rinse off the cure and let air dry in the fridge (uncovered) overnight. Discard the excess cure.

Smoke the pork belly

Prepare a smoker to

275 degrees (or set your oven to 275 degrees), and cook the pork belly until it reaches an internal temperature of

150 degrees. Remove from the smoker and let cool to room temperature.

I smoke my bacon on my reliable Weber grill, but if you don’t have access to a grill, this bacon is delicious roasted in the oven. Once the bacon is smoked and still hot, remove the pork skin — it will come off easily (pro tip: throw that skin in your chili or greens). You can use any wood to smoke the bacon, although I prefer apple or hickory.

Once the bacon is cool, slice it to your liking and fry it up. The bacon can store in the fridge for a month, or you can freeze it and keep it longer.

Now, go on and get yourself some pork belly. You know you want some bacon!

Bacon Cure

*These measurements are given in weights for the purpose of consistency, as different salts and sugars have varying weights even if they are identical in volume.